Making history at The SCF Black Sea Tall Ships Regatta 2014

05 February 2014

History was made this week when the largest sail training ship in the world, Class A Tall Ship Sedov (Russia) confirmed that she would be racing in The SCF Black Sea Tall Ships Regatta 2014 this spring.

Sedov will be joining three other Russian Class A ships in the race - Mir, Kruzenshtern and Nadezhda - and they will all sail and race against each other for the first time. They join over 20 other vessels in the international fleet of this spectacular event.

The event and race dates are:

Varna, Bulgaria Wednesday 30 April Saturday 3 May

Race 1

Novorossiysk, RussiaFriday 9 – Monday 12 May

Cruise-in-Company

Sochi, RussiaWednesday 14 – Sunday 18 May

Race 2

Constanta, RomaniaSaturday 24 – Tuesday 27 May

Organised by Sail Training International, The SCF Black Sea Tall Ships Regatta is the first of three Tall Ship race events being held this year.

This summer The Tall Ship Races in the North Sea will see up to 100 international Tall Ships visiting The Netherlands, Norway and Denmark. And late August, early September up to 50 international Tall Ships will be taking part in the Falmouth – Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Regatta.

Peter Newell, Race Director, Sail Training International said, “We are delighted to confirm that Sedov is taking part in this special event. She’s the longest and highest sail training ship in the world and it is particularly special that she will be sailing with her family of famous Russian sail training Tall Ships.”

The four masted sail training barque of the University of Murmansk, Sedov, is the vessel on which the young cadets from university train to become officers, mechanics and radio specialists.

Sedov can accommodate up to 320 people on board, 75 of which are crew members. The sail training takes place during journeys of up to four months along European coasts and takes advantage of cultural and economic exchanges with the ports.

Launched in Kiel in 1921 at the shipbuilding yard Krupp, Sedov (then named Magdalene Vinnen) with an auxiliary diesel engine with some 128hp, was exclusively dedicated to the transport of goods.

In 1936, Magdalene Vinnen was sold to Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen and was renamed Kommodore Johnsen. She carried out numerous circumnavigations, transporting wheat, coal and cereals. The Second World War put an end to these journeys as an ocean-going vessel, but she continued to train cadets in the Baltic where her journeys lasted up to six weeks. She came under Russian state ownership after the surrender of Germany.

She was renamed Sedov after the polar explorer Georgij Sedov who died during an investigation in the Arctic in 1914. Sedov navigated as an oceanographical vessel until 1966, she was then put in reserve to Kronstadt and she reappeared in the 1970’s.

Between the 1970’s and 1981 various works were carried out which cost in the region of one million roubles. She left the shipyard in 1981 and, with Riga as the port of registry, she took navigation cadets from of Kalingrad and Murmansk.

The fall of the Wall in 1989 and the Proclamation of Independence of Latvia in 1991 influenced the fate of Sedov. Living in the lap of Russia, she left Riga for Murmansk, her new port of registry, which assured her management and maintenance.

Sedov participates regularly in the big maritime international events and is been a regular participant in the Tall Ships' Races.

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Editor’s notes:

About Sovcomflot (SCF)

Sovcomflot Group is Russia's largest shipping company and a world leader in the maritime transportation of oil, hydrocarbons and liquefied gas.

The SCF fleet specialises in oil and gas shipping in challenging icy conditions and includes 158 vessels (owned and chartered) with a combined deadweight of around 12 million tonnes. A third of these vessels have a high ice class.

Sovcomflot supports large-scale offshore energy projects in Russia and the rest of the world, including: Sakhalin-I, Sakhalin-II, Varandey, Prirazlomnoye, Tangguh, Escobar and Peregrino. The company is registered in Saint-Petersburg and has representative offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, London, Limassol, Madrid, Singapore and Dubai.

What is sail training?

Sail Training is an adventure activity, which includes far more than sailing instruction. Participants are required to confront demanding challenges, both physical and emotional. It is an activity that inspires self-confidence and personal responsibility. It promotes an acceptance of others, whatever their social or cultural backgrounds, and develops a willingness to take controlled risks. Those who undertake Sail Training on Tall Ships generally find it a positive life-changing experience.

About Sail Training International (STI)

STI is the international voice of Sail Training, a registered charity (not-for-profit organisation), which has worldwide membership and activities. Its purpose is the development and education of young people through the Sail Training experience, regardless of nationality, culture, religion, gender or social background. It organises the annual Tall Ship Races and other international Tall Ship sailing events. STI members are 29 national Sail Training organisations around the world and STI’s head office is in Gosport, Hampshire, UK.

The organisation was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2007 for its work in promoting international understanding and friendship.